Giant daggers at Dagger Flat on March 27, 2023. by Rick LoBello, Board of Directors Chair Giant daggers at Big Bend National Park should reach their peak blooming period between now and Easter Sunday. Last year nearly 600,000 people visited Big Bend National Park and most missed seeing something truly spectacular, a forest of giant …
Save the date: 19th Annual Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta planned for September 23-24, 2023.
Big Bend National Park, Dagger Flat. Giant daggers will peak in full bloom during the first week of April. This photo was taken on Monday, March 27, 2023. It’s FIESTA 2023 planning time! The Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (CDEC), in partnership with the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the Tom Mays Unit of …
Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife: Desert Blond Tarantula
Desert Blond Tarantula Aphonopelma chalcodes Status: CommonSize: Legs can span up to 6 inchesHabitat: Southwestern United States, especially Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California Like most tarantulas this tarantula burrows in sandy soil. It emerges at sunset to hunt for prey including lizards, crickets, beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas and caterpillars. Hair covers the body and the color varies from …
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Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center Presentation on Zoom planned for Wednesday, March 29, 6:30pm Mountain Time
Mount Livermore (highest peak on the left) as seen from the front entrance to the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute (CDRI) Nature Center. Mount Livermore is a summit in the Davis Mountains in Jeff Davis County, Texas. It reaches an elevation of 8,378 feet / 2,554 meters, and is the fourth highest and most isolated peak …
Can we realize Roosevelt’s dream for a transboundary conservation area by developing a plan for a sustainable future?
This is a picture Santa Elena Canyon and the Rio Grande with the Santa Elena Canyon Protected Area, Chihuahua, Mexico on the left and Big Bend National Park in Texas on the right. By Rick LoBello, Board Member Background Big Bend National Park was first officially proposed on February 16, 1935 when Texas Senator Morris …
El Paso celebrates Castner Range National Monument
The Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (CDEC) is pleased to announce the creation of the Castner Range National Monument in the Franklin Mountains. Over the past twenty years CDEC in collaboration with the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens and thousands of citizens in El Paso and across the country has advocated for the protection of …
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Only in the Chihuahuan Desert: the reticulated gecko
Reticulated gecko By Rick LoBello, Board Member Every year I find one or more geckos under things in my yard or climbing on a wall. For most of us in El Paso if we find a gecko we are more than likely seeing a Mediterranean gecko, an exotic species in the U.S. first reported in …
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Volunteer at the Zoo as a Conservation Ambassador
Conservation Ambassadors help the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens with its mission of celebrating the value of animals and natural resources and in creating opportunities for people to rediscover their connection to nature. The Zoo has a new Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit and the City of El Paso Volunteer Program offers numerous opportunities to engage …
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Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife: Western Screech Owl
By Jacob Croft Western Screech Owl Megascops Kennicotti Status: Least Concerned Size: 7.5-9.8 inches Habitat: Woodlands The Western Screech Owl, looking much like the Eastern Screech Owl, is found in the western US and Mexico. They live here in El Paso, but are not commonly seen. Watch for them in the evenings or early mornings. They are nocturnal …
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Free tailing it up to Carlsbad
Natural entrance to Carlsbad Caverns, home to a maternity colony of Mexican free-tailed bats. By Rick LoBello, Board Member Prior to moving to El Paso my friends used to call me Batman because of my job at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. From 1992 to 2000 I lived in government housing a stone’s throw away from …
Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition 